One way to explore your local area is to adopt a scavenger hunt. You can include this as an added level of difficulty to walking, running, or cycling your neighborhood, or as a separate challenge instead.
Here’s a sample list, which I tried to make generic enough that it could work in urban, suburban, and rural areas. Adopt it wholesale, or scavenge it for ideas and make your own. The main point here is simply to explore some new areas while paying closer attention to your neighborhood than you otherwise might.
- an historical marker
- a public bulletin board
- a street containing several historic homes
- a mailbox with a unique design
- a church operating in a non-church-like building
- a handmade sign (that’s not advertising a yard sale or missing pet)
- a little free library (a small, public book exchange)
- a place offering live music
- an officially-sanctioned public art installation
- a unique door or gate
- a fountain (or water feature)
- a bike locked up to a bike rack or pole
- a public clock
- a social path (where people commonly walk so that it has become an unofficial de facto “trail”)
- an EV vehicle charging station
- an abandoned or otherwise vacant business
- a street sign with a sticker on it
- a restaurant or bar that advertises the year it opened
- a house flying a flag of a non-local sports team
- a classic car
- a house with year-round holiday lights or decorations on it
- a repair truck/van working at a house or business
- a quirky piece of architecture
- a wildlife sighting
- a dirt or gravel road
- a park bench with a dedication
- an unsupervised child playing in a yard
- a colorful building
- a hidden alleyway
- graffiti or street art
This can be an especially fun endeavor if you take photos of each objective and posting the results as a collection, whether in a blog post or an online album.